In a few days my term as President of IPMA will come to an end and Dr Jesus Martinez-Almela will take over the office. It has been an incredible period of my life, with many exciting but also challenging experiences. As Vice-President for Standards, Research and Awards I had the opportunity during the years 2013 and 2014 contributing to the development of IPMA´s Strategy 2020 and our global standards IPMA ICB, IPMA OCB and IPMA PEB. Developing a strategy and new standards always means change and an intensive period of implementation, which was the focus area during my Presidency between 2015 and 2017.

We changed key parts of IPMA´s Governance, grew the number of members to nearly 70 and pushed the recognition of IPMA through our blog, new events such as the IPMA Research Conference, Special Interest Group Workshops and the first Conference on Diversity in Project Management in 2016. Members of the Executive Board and myself travelled intensively throughout the world, visiting national, regional and international events of our member association or those who wanted to join IPMA. I had the opportunity to visit more than 80 different countries during my term, meeting many people, experiencing different cultures and contributing to what differentiates IPMA from other associations, an intensive experience exchange in the areas of project, programme and portfolio management. Whether it was a developing or a developed country, people were always curious to learn about trends, know-how and experiences in project management.

Sometimes you feel exhausted, overwhelmed or simply incapable of what is expected from you. Nevertheless, with trust and confidence in what you do, you can achieve a lot more than you may think you are able to do. Unfortunately, there are always setbacks, people that do not like to follow the new strategy, refusal of change, distrust, accusations and unnecessary fights. We shouldn´t forget that we are doing this on a voluntary basis, based on good faith and best intentions. Nobody is perfect, neither me, my successor nor anybody else involved. Let´s altogether focus on what needs to be done and spend time helping the profession to be successful, based on IPMA´s vision: promoting competence throughout society to enable a world in which all projects succeed!

I am aware that there is a lot more to do. In the same way we increase our presence throughout the world, the demands and needs of project managers, our associations and the society at large are growing. New challenges will arise. Members in developing countries require more help, e.g. education & training as well as establishing certification. IPMA requires new products and services, an intensified dialogue and networking activities between the member associations and an outreach to business and political leaders advocating project management. New technologies and developments drive the evolution of our profession, which means to support various research activities. There are new people with fresh ideas on the Executive Board for the next years. So I am confident that IPMA will grow and be successful.

On behalf of ExBo I´d like to thank all volunteers who dedicated a lot of time to move our profession forward, enabling our members to grow and prosper as well as helping others to join the family. Also the officers and staff, such as the Executive Director and his Assistant, the PMOs and all contractors helped us moving IPMA fast forward. Without their help this wouldn´t be possible. Have a relaxing Christmas season, a Happy New Year and let´s jointly move IPMA fast forward in the years to come.